Harivansh Rai Bachchan

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Harivansh Rai Bachchan (Template:Ne; 27 November 1907 Template:Endash 18 January 2003) was an Indian poet and writer of the Nayi Kavita literary movement (romantic upsurge) of early 20th century Hindi literature. He was also a poet of the Hindi Kavi Sammelan. Bachchan is best known for his early work Madhushala.[1] He was the father of Amitabh Bachchan, and grandfather of Shweta Bachchan Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan. His wife Teji Bachchan was a social activist. In 1976, he received the Padma Bhushan for his service to Hindi literature.[2]

Early life

Bachchan was born in Babupatti, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh in British India on 27 November 1907 into a Hindu Kayastha family.[3][4] His family name was Srivastava.[5] He began using the pen name "Bachchan" (meaning child) for his Hindi poetry. From 1941 to 1957, he taught in the English Department at the Allahabad University and then spent the next two years at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, completing a PhD regarding W. B. Yeats.[1]

Personal life

Bachchan married Shyama in 1926 who died of tuberculosis in 1936. In 1941, he married Teji Suri.[6][7] Their elder son Amitabh Bachchan was born on 11 October 1942, followed by their younger son, Ajitabh, on 18 May 1947.[8]

He had used the pen name Bachchan ("child-like" in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all of his works.[9] When looking to get their elder son admitted to a school, he and Teji decided the family's surname should be Bachchan instead of Srivastava, as both parents opposed the caste system.[10] Thus, it became the legal surname of the family.[11] He was close friends with the Hindi cinema thespian Prithviraj Kapoor.

Bachchan died on 18 January 2003 due to respiratory failure.[12][13]

Writing career

Bachchan was fluent in several Hindi languages (Hindustani and Awadhi).[14] He incorporated a broadly Hindustani vocabulary,[15] written in Devanagari script.[14] While he could not read Persian script,[14] he was influenced by Persian and Urdu poetry, particularly Omar Khayyam.[16]

Works used in movies

Bachchan's work has been used in movies and music. Couplets from his work "Agneepath" are used throughout the 1990 film Agneepath, featuring his son Amitabh, and also later in the 2012 remake Agneepath, starring Hrithik Roshan, as well as in the TV serial Ishqbaaz.[17]

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List of works

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Poems

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Miscellaneous
  • Bachpan ke saath kshan bhar (बचपन के साथ क्षण भर) (1934)
  • Khaiyyam ki madhushala (खय्याम की मधुशाला) (1938)
  • Sopaan (सोपान) (1953)
  • Macbeth (मेकबेथ)(1957)
  • Jangeet (जनगीता) (1958)
  • Omar Khaiyyam ki rubaaiyan (उमर खय्याम की रुबाइयाँ) (1959)
  • Kaviyon ke saumya sant: Pant (कवियों के सौम्य संत: पंत) (1960)
  • Aaj ke lokpriya Hindi kavi: Sumitranandan Pant (आज के लोकप्रिय हिन्दी कवि: सुमित्रानंदन पंत) (1960)
  • Aadhunik kavi: 7 (आधुनिक कवि: ७) (1961)
  • Nehru: Raajnaitik jeevanchitra (नेहरू: राजनैतिक जीवनचित्र) (1961)
  • Naye puraane jharokhe (नये पुराने झरोखे) (1962)
  • Abhinav sopaan (अभिनव सोपान) (1964)
  • Chausath roosi kavitaayein (चौसठ रूसी कवितायें) (1964)
  • W. B. Yeats and Occultism (1968)
  • Markat dweep ka swar (मरकट द्वीप का स्वर) (1968)
  • Naagar geet (नागर गीत) (1966)
  • Bachpan ke lokpriya geet (बचपन के लोकप्रिय गीत) (1967)
  • Hamlet (1969)
  • Bhaasha apni bhaav paraaye (भाषा अपनी भाव पराये) (1970)
  • Pant ke sau patra (पंत के सौ पत्र) (1970)
  • Pravaas ki diary (प्रवास की डायरी) (1971)
  • King Lear (1972)
  • Tooti Chooti kadiyan (टूटी छूटी कड़ियां) (1973)
  • Meri kavitaayi ki aadhi sadi (मेरी कविताई की आधी सदी) (1981)
  • So-ham hans (सोहं हंस) (1981)
  • Aathve dashak ki pratinidhi shreshth kavitaayein (आठवें दशक की प्रतिनिधी श्रेष्ठ कवितायें) (1982)
  • Meri shreshth kavitaayein (मेरी श्रेष्ठ कवितायें) (1984)
  • Jo beet gai so Bat gai

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Autobiography
  • Kya bhooloon kya yaad karoon (क्या भूलूं क्या याद करूं) (1969)
  • Neerh ka nirmaan phir (नीड़ का निर्माण फिर) (1970)
  • Basere se door (बसेरे से दूर) (1977)
  • Dashdwaar se sopaan tak (दशद्वार से सोपान तक) (1985), In the Afternoon of Time[19]
  • Bachchan rachanavali ke nau khand (बच्चन रचनावली के नौ खण्ड)

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See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:Usurped Obituary, Frontline, (The Hindu), 1–14 February 2003.
  2. ↑ Padma Awards. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India(2015). Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. ↑ खुली किताब सा जीवन : हरिवंश राय बच्चन की जीवनी के चार खंड!. The Better India - Hindi(25 November 2016). Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Harivansh Rai Bachchan | Indian poet. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  5. ↑ kya bhulun kya yaad karu{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
  6. ↑ इस बीमारी से हुई थी हरिवंश राय की पहली पत्नी की डेथ, इनसे की दूसरी शादी. Dainik Bhaskar(2017). Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  7. ↑ एक अफेयर से लेकर दो शादियों तक, ऐसी थी Amitabh Bachchan के पिता हरिवंश राय की ज़िंदगी. ABP News(24 December 2020). Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Who is Ajitabh Bachchan. Pinkvilla(6 December 2023). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  9. ↑ I am proud of my surname Amitabh Bachchan. The Times of India(28 July 2011). Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  10. ↑ Amitabh Bachchan got his surname because of caste system. Gulf News(30 July 2019). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  11. ↑ In The Afternoon Time{{#if:Bachchan|, Bachchan}. Viking Pr(1998). ISBN 978-0-670-88158-1
  12. ↑ Thousands mourn poet Bachchan. BBC(19 January 2003). Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  13. ↑ Harivansh Rai Bachchan passes away. The Times of India(18 January 2003). Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 The Global South and Literature{{#if:West-Pavlov|, West-Pavlov}. Cambridge University Press(2018). ISBN 9781108246316
  15. ↑ Representing India: Literatures, Politics, and Identities{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2008). ISBN 9780195692266
  16. ↑ Origin and development of Hindi/Urdu literature{{#if:Gopal|, Gopal}. Deep & Deep Publications(1996)
  17. ↑ Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1907–2003). IMDb
  18. ↑ Madhubala by Harivansh Rai Bachchan{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
  19. ↑ In the Afternoon of Time: An Autobiography: Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Rupert Snell, Baccana, Harivansh Rai BacHChhan: 9780670881581: Amazon.com: Books{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1 April 1998). ISBN 0670881589

Further reading

  1. Kaveendra, Anil Pushker. Harivanshrai Bachchan Ki Anuvad Drishti (Hindi) (Hardcover) (2013). Ruby Press & Co., New Delhi. Template:ISBN

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